Railing



Nov. 17, 1931. J. F. WILLIAMS RAILING Filed April 5, 1930 Patented Nov.17, 1931l TED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE l' 1 JOHN F. WILLIAMS, 0F BOSTON,MASSACHUSETTS y RAILING y Application med April s, 1930. serial No.441,187.

My invention relates torailings and' particularly-to railings of thatingva iexible cable `or rope class compris- Whose opposite ends are'connected with posts, staninvention relates to improvements in theconstruction of the cables of railings of the class indicated,' and ithas for its object, to improve the construction thereof.

Railings of the type referred to arey in-y stalled' in theatres` publichalls, churches,

and like places lwhere people congregate, and

are iisuallv emploved as barriers that are desirably of attractive andornamentalv appear- Usually a cable or rope` of the vclass towhich mvinvention relates has heretofore been constructed rvithpa coreof stronghemp rope having one. or each. en

d thereof per@ manentlv attached to a metal terminal structure providedat its free end with means such as a book or eve through which. it wasconnected with a post, stanchion or otherv fixture. lt has beencustomarv, also, to provide a tubular plush or pile fabric sheath orcovering for the rope in ord'er to giveV to the latter an attractive orornamental appearance.

A disadvantage to the constructions'heretofore proposed has been thatthe hemp rope Was not fastened to the end terminal member or memberssecurelv enough to Withstand the strains and' loads sometimes imposedupon devices of thisclass. 'lt has freoiientlv happened heretofore thatpatrons of a theatre or the like would bear against the would he brokenstructure.

away 'from the end terminal My invention isldesigned to. obviate thisohiection able feature characterizing' railings of this class asheretofore con str'ucted and it provi d'es animproved cable haviugthepeculiarfeatures of construction operation set forth and described inthe fol- Y and mode of lowingl description the r"several Anovel features`of the invention bein pointed out and defined' sen claims at the closethereof;

; particularly arately l in the lure 3.

y ture in connection In the accompanyingvdrawings:

Figure l is an elevation of a portion of a railing including a cable orrope constructed in accordance with my invention.`

Fi'gure'Q is a side elevation of an end portion of the cable illustratedin Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a central longitudinalsectional View ofthe portion of thecable illustrated in Figure 2. f v Figure 4 is a section on line 4 4of`Fig` Figure 5 isan elevation ofthe inner end of the head or capmember hereinafter referred to. l f

The embodiment'of my invention :herein illustratedvconsistsiof a pendantcable that is indicated generallyat 1,,Fig. 1, which is provided at eachend thereof vWith a terminal structure 2 having a hook or anchormember 3adapted to be separably engaged withan eye 4 provided upon apost 5, orother fix- Witlrwhich the, cable 1 employed. K The cable 1 comprises acore 6 consisting of a length of `chain made up of metalrlinks 7arranged Within a rubber hose 8 which' is of slightly less length thanthe chain 6.5 This length of rubber hose 8 is preferably reinforced withtextile fabric 9 in theordinary fashion. Y

Through each endmost link 7 of chain 6 extends a cross-bar in the formof a screyv 10 occupying apertures provided in t'vvok oppositelydisposed lugs 11 and 12 provided upon ktheA inner side or end of a capmember 13. The aperture 14 of the lug 12 is of approximately the samediameter as the outside diameter of the screw 10, While the opposite endof said-screw is in threaded engagement Withfthe lug 11 Whose aperture15 is threaded to receive the adjacent end of the screw.

Thelcap 13isv made with' an exteriorly threaded body portion 16 on towhich" is screwed a ferrule 17 Whose outer end portion is interiorlylthreaded to engage with the threads on cap 13. y `v n VTo the outer endof cap 13 is rotatably connected the hook 3 and as herein shown theshank of this hook vis made with a threaded socket 19 into which isscrewed a threaded in st em that is permanently fixed in position withinsaid socket by a pin 21. At its inner end the stem 20 is made with ahead 22 which permanently connects the hook 3 with the cap 13'so thatsaid two elements are free to rotate relatively.

|Ihe length of rubber hose 8 is provided throughout its length with atubular covering or sheath 23 made from plush or pile fabric which ispreferablycemented in position upon the exterior of the hose 8. Thistubular plush sheath 23 is preferably made slightly longer than the hose8 so that its end portions 24 can be drawn inwardly and secured there bymeans of stitches or threads 25.

Adjacent each end' thereof the hose 8 is made at its opposite sides withapertures that are occupied bythe opposite ends of a crossbar 26, saidcross-bar extending throughthe second link of chain 6V which adjoins theendmost link of the latter. secured-permanently tothe hose 8 byupsetting its opposite ends as indicated at 27, in

Fig. 4, washers 28 being interposed between the heads 27 and the wallofthe hose 8. Also interior of the hose.

After assemblingthe chain 7, hose 8 and plush fabric 23 the ferrule 17is slid into position upon the fabric covering 23 and then the capv 13is fastened by means of screw 10 to the endmost link V7 after which theferrule 17 is slid forward and screwed on to the cap 13 and then fixedin that position by drilling through ferrule 17 and into cap 13 toprovide a socket into which is*v driven a locking pin 30. In this waythe ferrule 17 is permanently. fastened to the cap 13 so that itcannot'be removed therefrom without the employment of tools. It willalso 'be-clear' that the hook 3is permanently swiveledtothe cap 13.

' Railings of the character above described are commonly employed intheatres andother places of assemblage where they are usedas barriersinproximity tov which crowds of people oftenfcongregate so that suchbarriers are frequently subjected to rough usage and great strains. Alsopersons in vproximity thereto often grasp and toy with the same andsometimes even sit thereon. It will therefore,V be clear that the abovedescribed construction provides an extremely strong and A durable cablewhich cannot be injured or disarranged when subjected to usage such asjust described. Furthermore my improved cable may be made to present avery attractiveand ornamental appearance il feature of advantage to theabove described construction is that the hose 8 provides a very stiffyet flexible backing support for the pile fabric 23 so that the cable 1,Fig. 1,`not only presents a smooth round appearance but it maintains itsshape under pressure applied exteriorly thereto. v Another feature Thiscross-bar 26 is of advantage consists in connecting the end n portionsof the chain 7 with the hose 8 as by means of the cross-bars 26 wherebysaid chain is maintained fully vextended and in proper relationship withhose 8 which serves as a housing therefor. YAlso the connection vbetweenchain 7 and hose 8` serves to hold the endmost links projectingpartially from the hose so that the operation of connecting the cap 13with the chain is facilitated.

- vAnother feature of advantage is that the above described terminalstructure houses the end portions of hose 8 .and fabric 23 and cannot bemanipulated to disengage or disassemble the parts thereof.

"What I claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, in combination, a metalliccable; a flexible tubularhousing for said metallic cable and an'endterminal structure comprising a sleeve telescopically fitted upon theend portion of said tubular housing and connected with one end of saidmetallic cable,closure means for the outer end of said sleeve, and ananchor member rotatably connected with said closure means. Y

2. In a device of the character described, in combination, a link chain;a flexible tubular housing for said chain; and an end terminal structurecomprising a sleeve telescopically fitted upon the end portion of saidtubular housing and connected with one of the links of said chain,closure means for the outer end of said sleeve, and an anchor memberrotatably connected with said closure means.

3. In a device of the character described, in combination, a link chaincable; a flexible tubularhousing for said chain cable; a cross-barconnected at its opposite ends with opposite sides of said tubularhousing adjacent one end thereof, said cross-bar extending through oneof the links of said chain cable near one end of the latter; and an endterminal structure comprising a sleeve telescopically fitted upon theend portion of said tubular housing and connected with the end of saidchain cable, closure means for the outer end of said sleeve, and ananchor member rotatably connected with said closure means.

4. In a device of the character described, inlcombination, a link chaincable; a flexible tubular housing for said chain cable, and an endterminal structure comprising a sleeve telescopically fitted upon theend vportion of said tubular housing, a closure cap fastened to theouter end of-said sleeve, a cross-'bar upon the inner side of said capextending through the adjacent endmost link of said chain cable, and ananchor' member rotatably connected with said closure cap.

jIna device of the character described, in combination, a link chaincable; a flexible tubular housing for said chain cable; a

cross-bar Within said tubular housing having its opposite ends fastenedto the opposite sides of said housing, said cross-bar extending throughone of the links of said chain cable, and an end terminal structurecomprising a sleeve telescopically tted'upon the end portion of saidtubular housing, a closure cap fastened to the outer end of said sleeve,a cross-bar upon the inner side of said cap extending through theadjacent endmost link of said chain cable, and an anchor memberrotatably connected with said closure cap. 6. A device of the characterdescribed constructed in accordance with claim cwherein said anchormember consists of a hook upon the outside of said closure cap Whoseshank is formed at its end with a threaded socket that is in threadedengagement with a stem extending loosely through an aperture -providedin said closure cap and having at its inner end a head for holding saidstem within said aperture.

Signed by me at Boston, Su'olk County, Massachusetts, this rst day ofApril, 1930. JOHN F. WILLIAMS.

